One Year Later
Deep within the Spiritual Realm...
Far beyond the territories explored by ordinary Initiates stood a mountain range permanently covered in gray ash. Even the sky above seemed darker than elsewhere, while black smoke drifted endlessly from cracks scattered throughout the rocky landscape.
This place was feared by countless hunters.
The Ashen Cave.
Few entered.
Even fewer returned.
Inside the enormous cave, glowing crimson crystals illuminated the darkness with a dim, eerie light.
At the entrance...
Two young lovers stood completely absorbed in each other's company.
Blake and Ella.
Over the past year, countless life-and-death battles had slowly brought them closer together.
Neither of them had expected it.
Neither of them had confessed first.
It had simply... happened.
Now they rarely spent time apart.
They even rented a small apartment together far from both of their families, preferring the freedom of living alone over constant questioning from relatives.
At this very moment...
The two were locked in a long kiss.
Several seconds later, Blake slowly pulled away before smiling awkwardly.
"I think..."
"...people are watching us."
Ella blinked.
Then laughed.
"If you mean the dead people only you can see..."
"They're welcome to watch."
Blake scratched his cheek.
"They're actually making comments."
Ella burst into laughter.
"I don't even want to know."
Just then...
A black shadow silently walked past them.
It paused.
Slowly turned its head.
Then made an exaggerated expression of disgust before shaking its head dramatically.
It was Ling.
Jade's living shadow.
The tiny shadow crossed its arms before pointing toward the cave entrance as if saying,
"Can we focus on surviving first?"
Neither Blake nor Ella understood what the strange creature wanted.
Throughout the past year, Link had followed them almost everywhere.
At first they had tried chasing it away.
They had even attempted attacking it.
Every attack simply passed through the shadow harmlessly.
Eventually they gave up.
Besides...
The strange little creature wasn't completely useless.
Whenever monsters approached...
Link always warned them beforehand.
Whenever Blake exhausted himself...
The shadow would quietly wrap around him, restoring part of his energy.
Sometimes it even pointed toward hidden treasures.
It behaved less like a monster...
And more like an extremely rude companion.
Compared to a year ago, Link had changed.
It no longer ran around causing random trouble every five minutes.
Instead, it acted far calmer.
Far more mature.
Jade had clearly spent an entire year teaching it some discipline.
Unfortunately...
Its mischievous personality remained exactly the same.
Ella folded her arms.
"Can't you give us even a little privacy?"
Link looked at her.
Thought for a moment.
Then confidently shook its head.
"Absolutely not."
It pointed toward the depths of the cave.
Then pointed at both of them.
Then mimed something eating them.
Blake sighed.
"I think it's saying this cave is dangerous."
Ella rolled her eyes.
"I figured that much."
Without another word, Blake summoned an Echo.
Dark essence gathered before taking the shape of a magnificent horse-like creature covered in black armor.
Its crimson eyes glowed faintly within the darkness.
Blake climbed onto its back before extending a hand toward Ella.
She accepted it without hesitation.
Moments later, both rode deeper into the Ashen Cave.
Unlike ordinary expeditions, this journey wasn't about hunting monsters.
Blake had another objective.
During the past year, he had discovered something extraordinary through the countless dead souls he communicated with.
He wasn't merely connected to Death.
He was...
The Heir of the Death God.
The revelation explained many things.
His strange Flaw.
His power over spirits.
Even his ability to return from death.
Unfortunately...
Knowing his identity didn't make him stronger.
Unlike Jade, he hadn't awakened a God Body.
According to the ancient souls he questioned, obtaining one required recovering the lost lineages of the Death God.
There were many.
The first one he sought...
Was Aura Weave.
A lineage capable of strengthening one's aura until it became almost tangible.
It wouldn't merely increase pressure.
It could harden spiritual energy itself.
Transforming invisible killing intent into an actual weapon.
One elderly spirit had finally revealed its name after Blake spent nearly three weeks answering questions about modern civilization.
That conversation alone convinced Blake the journey was worth it.
Ella glanced sideways.
"So..."
"You still think the lineage is here?"
Blake nodded confidently.
"The spirits never lied to me."
"They only omitted inconvenient details."
Ella sighed.
"I suppose that's comforting."
"It isn't."
Both laughed.
Meanwhile...
Ling suddenly froze.
Its playful expression disappeared instantly.
The tiny shadow climbed onto Blake's shoulder before narrowing its nonexistent eyes.
Then...
It pointed deeper into the cave.
Not once.
Not twice.
Repeatedly.
Urgently.
Its entire body trembled.
Blake immediately understood.
"Something dangerous?"
Ling nodded rapidly.
Then stretched both tiny arms as wide as possible.
Very...
Very...
Very dangerous.
Without hesitation, Ling jumped from Blake's shoulder and wrapped itself around his body.
A refreshing wave of energy immediately flowed into Blake's exhausted muscles.
He sighed in relief.
"My favorite little shadow."
Link proudly placed both hands on its hips.
It looked extremely pleased with itself.
Jade had discovered months ago that Ling possessed an unusual ability.
It could transfer part of its own shadow essence into others, temporarily increasing their stamina and reducing fatigue.
Considering Blake's constant deaths and resurrections during battle, the little shadow had practically become his personal healer.
Neither Blake nor Ella knew where Ling truly came from.
If they discovered it belonged to Jade...
They probably would've treated it far more kindly.
Ella suddenly raised one hand.
A beautiful silver bow appeared instantly.
Moments later, an arrow of condensed essence materialized between her fingers.
Her expression turned serious.
Very serious.
"I can feel them."
Blake looked ahead.
"What?"
Ella swallowed.
"... Elite creatures."
Silence filled the cave.
Even Ling slowly lowered its hands.
For the first time since entering the Ashen Cave...
None of them smiled.
Far ahead...
Something enormous had begun moving within the darkness.
And whatever it was...
It had already noticed them.